Owing to religious intolerance and violent persecution, a general exodus of the people had begun before the building was finished, though not before many had received their blessings and endowments therein. Certain parts of the Temple were dedicated for ordinance work long before the dedication of the building as a whole. In 1848 the Temple was partly destroyed by fire; and in 1850 the ruined walls were leveled by a tornado. See pages 126-136. {246} PLATE 3.--THE GREAT TEMPLE AT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH {247} This splendid structure was forty years in building. The corner stones were laid April 6, 1853; the capstone was placed in position April 6, 1892, and the completed Temple was dedicated April 6, 1893; each of these events was marked by impressive ceremony. The walls are of solid granite eight feet thick in the first story and six feet in the upper parts. Many stones of emblematical significance appear representing sun, moon, stars, the earth, and the clouds. On the main inscription stone at the east we read: "_Holiness to the Lord_" and on the keystones of the arched windows at both east and west ends, "_I am Alpha and Omega_," and above these is the awe-inspiring emblem of the All-seeing Eye. See pages 136-180. {248} PLATE 4.--THE GREAT TEMPLE IN WINTER {249} The Temple is centrally located in the easterly half of Temple Block. The grounds are beautified by a profusion of shrubs, trees, and flowers. Many observers have voiced their uncertainty as to whether the Temple appears more beautiful when environed by the greenery of summer or by the white foliage of hoar-frost or snow. The scene herewith presented was caught by the camera in the spring of 1912. {250} PLATE 5.--STATUE SURMOUNTING THE CAPSTONE OF THE GREAT TEMPLE {251} The stonework of each of the six towers ends in a sphere of granite. The termination of the east center tower is the highest stone in the building and constitutes the capstone. Anchored to this granite globe is a figure wrought in copper over-laid with gold; it stands over twelve feet high, and represents Moroni, an ancient Nephite prophet, who as a resurrected being visited the boy-prophet, Joseph Smith, in 1823, and afterward delivered to him the ancient record since published to the world as the Book of Mormon. The design is that of a herald with a trumpet at his lips. The statue is the work of C. E. Dallin. The capstone on which the statue stands is one of the record-stones of the Temple. In a receptacle within the granite mass are a number of books and other records. See pages 175, 176; also 151, 152. {252} PLATE 6.--ONE OF THE OUTER DOORS OF THE TEMPLE